Mikel Arteta said on Wednesday that Martin Odegaard has “significant” damage to an ankle ligament that will keep him out for “a while.”
This is bad news for Arsenal because they have a Premier League game this Sunday against Manchester City.
Mikel Merino, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Kieran Tierney were all hurt and will also miss the game.
Last Monday, Captain Odegaard hurt his ankle while playing for Norway in an international game. He was seen getting on a plane back to London with crutches.
Arsenal’s first Champions League game is on Thursday night against Atalanta. Arteta said, “After everything was scanned, the scan showed he has some damage, especially on one of the ligaments in the ankle.”
“He will be missed.” I’m not a doctor, so I don’t want to say when it will happen, but it’s going to be a while because it’s something important.
“I hope not months, but let’s see.” He is our leader and without a doubt one of our most important players.
“In the last two or three years, he’s been one of the most reliable players.” What makes us who we are is closely linked to how we play and act. That is something we will have to deal with.
“That is also a great test for the team to see how well we can adapt and show that we have other players and options that can still be very useful.”
At the weekend, Arteta’s team played great without their captain and the suspended Declan Rice. They came away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with all three points.
The game’s only goal was scored by defender Gabriel Magalhaes. Odegaard will not be able to play in another important game on Sunday when his team travels to Manchester City to play them at the Etihad.
The City team plays Inter Milan at home on Wednesday night, while the Arsenal team has one less day to rest after a tough trip to Italy.
“Is that a bad thing?” “I hope not,” Arteta said. “Maybe what happened on Sunday gave us a lot of energy as well.” It was great. We are focussing on the good things.
Bukayo Saka hurt his ankle at Spurs, but Arteta had better news about the England forward.
“Yes, he was able to train today; he saw most of the session through and is still available,” he said.